2009 Volkswagen Routan Wheels Problems

“While putting air in my tires, the valve stem broke off of the tire while trying to remove the cap off of the stem and the tire deflated almost instantly. After looking at the broken valve stem, it appears like the cap and stem became corroded and was completely welded together. I still have this cap that broke off if it is needed for an investigation.”

“The valve stem broke off when I went to put air in it and the tire (front driver side) immediately deflated. The valve stem is metal and apparently corroded. About a month later the rear driver side began to leak and had to be replaced. Then today (3/4/14) the valve stem broke off the passenger front tire when I went to unscrew the cap (I could hear air hissing out before I even touched it). If this had happened while driving, I could have had a serious accident.”

“Two tires have blown out on my Routan due to corroded valve stems. The first time, on 3/16/11, I had just pulled into a parking lot when I heard a loud noise and felt my tire go flat. Belle tire told me that the valve stem had corroded and popped off, essentially blowing out my tire. Stupidly, I didn't think anything of it. The second time happened on 12/31/11. My 19-year-old daughter was driving the Routan on an expressway where the speed limit is 70 MPH.. She said she heard a loud noise, and then the car started veering. …”

“In january of 2012 we started to notice a noise coming from the wheels of our vehicle. We at first thought it might be a chunk of snow caught in the wheel well but when we arrived home there was nothing there. Over the next couple of days the noise got significantly louder to be point you could not even hear the radio when it was turned on. I took it to a local shop where I was told both my front wheel bearings were bad and would need to be replace the rear wheel bearings would need to be replace soon also as they were going back as well. …”

“Recently I noticed a low tire pressure on the left front wheel of my Volkswagen Routan. When I attempted to add air to the tire, the stem pushed into the wheel and the tire deflated. The metal tire pressure stem is attached to tire pressure sensing units on each wheel. When I examined the stem I noticed that the nut that locks the stem in position had disintegrated from corrosion. The only thing holding the stem in position was the pressure within the tire. When the stem was touched and moved, the tire immediately deflated. I found the same defect on the other wheels. …”